West Virginia

Our first destination in West Virginia was the impressive industrial town of Charleston, from which we continued north East on Highway 79. This took us to Sutton Lake, a place that we decided to investigate for no reason whatsoever.

One of the best things about the US is the opportunity that it provides for anyone to discover something unexpected and wonderful just by taking a random detour. Our visit to the small town of Sutton is a perfect example of this. Here, a now forgotten collection of brick houses that date back to the war of independence stand around a tidy but eerily quiet central square in which the names of local veterans of that war are still proudly presented. For me, this decaying place is a great example of the deep (Eurocentric) history on offer in the American East, where the urban aesthetic seems almost European by contrast to that on offer in California. Here, brick rather then wood seems to dominate towns as a primary building material, and that, in my little brain at least, creates a sense of permanence around almost every man made urban structure.

That night, we left Sutton town for its grand local lake. Here we sat on its banks, mesmerised by a roaring fire that protected us from what was definitely the coldest night that we have endured so far. Thankfully, a kind woman who lived year round in a local caravan offered us some chopped wood to make this possible. I fear for the consequences had she not done this.

Thank the lord for thermals.

The following morning we tore ourselves away from the comparative warmth of the Beast in order to pack up camp ready for the continuation of our journey toward Pennsylvania. Once we were ready to depart we, albeit temporarily, ventured deeper into the local woodland. Here we found several remote communities, each consisting of nothing more then 3 or 4 mobile homes and each partially obscured by thick forest. I would like to have spent more time here, but the locals made it clear that outsiders were not welcome via glares that pierced through their weathered faces. So with nothing other then a loose inclination to see Philadelphia, we left and headed toward the bland safety of the freeway.

Sutton

Sutton

Sutton

Sutton Lake

Local Forest

Remote Church

© All Images By Paul